Toyota Yaris HSD Concept May Be the New Prius

In brief: With the competition amongst hybrids beginning to grow, Toyota is feeling the heat, but the new Yaris HSD may be its next market taker.

Vehicle in the news

Make/Model: Yaris HSD (concept)

Manufacturer: Toyota

The word

The Hybrid Synergy Drive will likely appear next in the Yaris, Toyota's diminutive compact. The market segment is relatively small in the U.S., but is the largest and most competitive in Europe. Toyota's primary competing vehicles in the B-segment are the Yaris and some Scion models.

The Yaris HSD would be a significant competitor in this efficiency-conscious segment. Toyota plans to begin making the Yaris HSD in France starting mid-year 2012 to enter the market alonside the Auris HSD and Prius.

The Yaris HSD has solar panels along the entire rooftop to power climate controls.

The main difference between the HSD in the Yaris versus the Prius is size. Because the Yaris is so much smaller, Toyota had to reduce the battery size and volume so as not to cut into the passenger cabin or cargo space.

And so ...

Toyota has not revealed expected fuel economy for the Yaris HSD, but it's likely to be well over the 50mpg mark of the Prius.

Photo credits: Toyota

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